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| Northern Mercury Front Page May 28 |
The City of Launceston is in the last throws of preparing its budget and it is starting to look like it is getting a little too hot around the number cruncher. But as they say if its too hot in the workshop, get out.
Here we have this council trying the friendly inclusive community engagement approach for a change and its probably not working. Firstly, the punters have learnt that there is not a lot of point engaging to dissuade this Council from putting up the fees up, or whatever, aa they will do so anyway or something worse.
Since before his election Cr Spencer has been 'frightening the horses' at Town Hall with his up front, rough and ready proposals to "sell off assets" to save the ratepayers. He has also put up a proposal to get elected representatives some kind of control over the tendering process and again, with an eye to saving the ratepayers.
Now that the motion is actually on the agenda, it seems, it might well be frightening the bejesus out of the chancers who see 'an opportunity or two' the way thing are – or those who just dislike change.
That game plays out on Thursday and it will be interesting to see how the cards fall. However, those wanting a quiet life the way things are are throwing up the threat of loosing 'the footy ground' or 'the swimming pools' or something else to draw attention away from what might be going on.
Launcestonians have usually rallied to keep things like 'the museum and York Park' in "our hands". It seems the bigger the Council is the better things are for the functionaries at Town Hall.
So, a cynic might say, all is not what it seems when and maybe, just maybe, we really should be reading between the lines here.
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A Tasmanian council is considering the option of selling one of the state’s premier sports grounds to reduce the burden on ratepayers.
CHRISTOPHER TESTA,Mercury May 27, 2019 9:01pm
THE City of Launceston is considering its future as the long-term owner of University of Tasmania Stadium as it looks at ways to reduce the rate burden.
The council will spend more than $3 million upgrading the stadium later this year, with the bulk of that money going toward an overdue replacement of the playing surface.
City of Launceston general manager Michael Stretton said the council’s long-term finance plan had identified a need for it to “examine the ownership of a range of assets”, including the stadium — one of just five council-owned venues around the country being used for regular season AFL games this year.
“However, at this stage, it would be highly presumptuous to speculate as this matter as it has only just been identified as a matter for review,” Mr Stretton said.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said UTAS Stadium’s future was among “a lot of options” being considered but declined to indicate what stage the discussions were at.
Hawthorn and Port Adelaide form a huddle after the game at UTAS Stadium on Saturday.
The council did not seek State Government funding for the upcoming UTAS Stadium upgrades, meaning Launceston ratepayers will wear the entire $2.8 million cost. The PA and speaker system are also in line for a $250,000 upgrade.
Mr Stretton said the ground had not been resurfaced in almost 20 years. “Generally, the lifespan of a stadium surface in Australia is approximately seven years,” he said. .
Most AFL grounds are state government-owned. In 2016, the Victorian Government took over management of Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium from the local council, with the ground now run by the Kardinia Park Trust.
The only other AFL regular season venues owned by councils are Bellerive Oval in Hobart, Mars Stadium in Ballarat, Traeger Park in Alice Springs and Riverway Stadium in Townsville, which hosts its first clash next month. .
A 2017 Pricewaterhouse Coopers economic report said Hawthorn matches in Launceston directly injected more than $28 million into the city’s economy.
But Launceston councillor Paul Spencer, who was elected last year after running a campaign calling for a cut to spending, suggested the council should “just give (the stadium) to the AFL” as an incentive for a Tasmanian side.
Cr Spencer said if the council could not find a new owner for the stadium, it should “sell swimming pools off to private enterprise” instead.
CHRISTOPHER TESTA,Mercury May 27, 2019 9:01pm
THE City of Launceston is considering its future as the long-term owner of University of Tasmania Stadium as it looks at ways to reduce the rate burden.
The council will spend more than $3 million upgrading the stadium later this year, with the bulk of that money going toward an overdue replacement of the playing surface.
City of Launceston general manager Michael Stretton said the council’s long-term finance plan had identified a need for it to “examine the ownership of a range of assets”, including the stadium — one of just five council-owned venues around the country being used for regular season AFL games this year.
“However, at this stage, it would be highly presumptuous to speculate as this matter as it has only just been identified as a matter for review,” Mr Stretton said.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said UTAS Stadium’s future was among “a lot of options” being considered but declined to indicate what stage the discussions were at.
Hawthorn and Port Adelaide form a huddle after the game at UTAS Stadium on Saturday.
The council did not seek State Government funding for the upcoming UTAS Stadium upgrades, meaning Launceston ratepayers will wear the entire $2.8 million cost. The PA and speaker system are also in line for a $250,000 upgrade.
Mr Stretton said the ground had not been resurfaced in almost 20 years. “Generally, the lifespan of a stadium surface in Australia is approximately seven years,” he said. .
Most AFL grounds are state government-owned. In 2016, the Victorian Government took over management of Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium from the local council, with the ground now run by the Kardinia Park Trust.
The only other AFL regular season venues owned by councils are Bellerive Oval in Hobart, Mars Stadium in Ballarat, Traeger Park in Alice Springs and Riverway Stadium in Townsville, which hosts its first clash next month. .
A 2017 Pricewaterhouse Coopers economic report said Hawthorn matches in Launceston directly injected more than $28 million into the city’s economy.
But Launceston councillor Paul Spencer, who was elected last year after running a campaign calling for a cut to spending, suggested the council should “just give (the stadium) to the AFL” as an incentive for a Tasmanian side.
Cr Spencer said if the council could not find a new owner for the stadium, it should “sell swimming pools off to private enterprise” instead.
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